Poll: Most New Yorkers Would Shop At Local Walmart

Shoppers wait in line to pay for their purchases at a Walmart store in Los Angeles, California on November 24, 2009, a few days before âBlack Fridayâ the day after Thanksgiving which kicks off the holiday shopping season. Retailers are hoping âdoorbusterâ deals will stimulate sales despite the weak economy. AFP PHOTO / Robyn Beck (Photo credit should read ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images)Walmart (ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images)

In a Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday, 69 percent of the respondents said they would shop at a Walmart in the city if it was convenient, while 63 percent said city officials should allow a local Walmart to open.

“Support for allowing Walmart to open in the Big Apple is growing, while the number of would-be shoppers remains constant at more than 2-1,” said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

“Voters agree with both the negative and positive claims made about the retail giant, but even in union households, New Yorkers say a bargain’s a bargain.”

Carroll told 1010 WINS that while New Yorkers agree that while Walmart could hurt neighborhood businesses and can be stingy with its workers they’d still be glad to shop at the store.

Opposition to Walmart didn’t top 32 percent, according to the poll.

Compared to results from a poll on March 18, support increased and opposition decreased among New Yorkers.

Presently, only 25 percent of New York City voters shop at Walmarts near the Big Apple.

“The customer voice continues to be clear on this issue: New Yorkers want Walmart. It’s obvious that the more people learn the facts about our company, the more they see the value in bringing a store to their neighborhood that creates quality jobs and offers affordable groceries,” Steve Restivo, Senior Director of Community Affairs for Walmart, said in a statement. “Here’s the other thing that’s clear: they don’t want a handful of union front groups telling them where they can and can’t shop.”

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